1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a support or mount for an optical device such as a firearm sight and a method for mounting optical devices such as telescopic sights on large caliber rifles or other firearms generating substantial recoil forces.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
At present, a wide variety of optical sights are available for use on firearms such as rifles. Telescopic sights, night vision sights, and illuminated red dot electronic sights are often used in a variety of situations. An optical sight for use on a firearm such as a rifle is customarily optically aligned along the axis of the bore and used to align the bore of the firearm with the target. Sights are usually adjustable in the left and right direction for xe2x80x9cwindagexe2x80x9d and in the up and down direction for xe2x80x9celevation.xe2x80x9d Usually, a shooter will mount a telescopic sight or the like to a firearm using a pair of telescopic sight supporting rings (or scope rings) and then immediately xe2x80x9czeroxe2x80x9d the sight by a procedure of adjusting windage and elevation settings so that the sight""s point of aim corresponds with the point of impact for a selected target at a desired range.
If a telescopic sight is mounted with the scope rings of the prior art to a large caliber rifle or other firearm generating large recoil forces, the zero may change after firing several rounds and the telescopic sight must be adjusted for proper zero again.
There are many kinds of mounting structures for attaching and supporting sights on firearms. The Picatinny arsenal of the U.S. Army has developed an elongate mounting rail known as the xe2x80x9cPicatinny rail,xe2x80x9d which has become one of the industry standards for mounting a telescopic sight on a rifle or other firearm. The Picatinny rail is similar to the Weaver(trademark) rail or Weaver base having first and second parallel, elongate rail members disposed parallel to the firearm bore. The Weaver base supports or carries telescopic sight supporting rings (i.e., scope rings) to rigidly mount a telescopic sight; customarily, two scope rings are used to encircle and support a tubular telescopic sight body. The scope rings are usually spaced apart at a distance of two to six inches and attached along the elongate rail. The Picatinny rail differs from the Weaver rail in that a plurality of transverse notches cross the parallel elongate rail members. Mounting the scope rings of the prior art with either the Weaver rail or the Picatinny rail requires substantial effort since the scope must be properly aligned and leveled in the scope rings while on the base. As noted above, if the zero adjustment of the scope changes in response to recoil or other forces, the zeroing effort will have been wasted and the scope mounting and zeroing procedure must be repeated.
There has been a long felt need, then, for a method and apparatus permitting attachment of a telescopic or tubular sight on a firearm in a convenient manner which is also more likely to retain the sight adjustment or zero.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to overcome the above mentioned difficulties by providing a method and apparatus permitting the user to rigidly affix a sight onto a firearm in a manner likely to preserve the sight adjustment or zero.
Another object of the present invention is removably attaching an optical device to a mount with one or two attractively designed reinforced scope rings.
The aforesaid objects are achieved individually and in combination, and it is not intended that the present invention be construed as requiring two or more of the objects to be combined unless expressly required by the claims attached hereto.
The reinforced scope ring of the present invention preferably has a cylindrical length greater than its diameter and uses first and second threaded transverse lug fasteners and can be used singly or (for weapons having especially severe recoil) can be used in pairs, and can be affixed to a conventional Picatinny rail mounted on a firearm (e.g., onto the receiver of a rifle). The reinforced scope ring includes a base, a removable jaw attached to the base preferably by first and second transverse threaded fasteners and first and second knurled nuts. First and second semi-cylindrical split rings and a substantially semi-cylindrical top ring member are removably attached to the base. The base includes first and second transverse apertures aligned across the scope axis and spaced apart by approximately 0.80 inches to engage alternate transverse notches in the Picatinny rail thereby spreading recoil forces over alternate notches in the rail. The first and second transverse threaded lug fasteners have an elongate body with a substantially rectangular cross section to provide transverse lug surfaces tending to fill the transverse notches in the Picatinny rail and engage the fore and aft or axially oriented notch surfaces in the left and right rail members. The reinforced scope ring is attached to the Picatinny rail by first inserting the first and second transverse threaded fasteners in the base and then lowering the base onto the rail. The removable jaw has first and second apertures into which threaded fastener distal ends are inserted and then the threaded nuts are tightened onto the threaded fasteners, thus securely affixing the base to the rail.
The base also includes transverse notches spaced at 0.80 inches to engage the transverse lug surfaces of the threaded fastener elongate bodies. Thus, each reinforced scope ring base has spaced parallel engagement surfaces to provide rigid longitudinal support to the scope or other optical sights supported in the scope ring. The threaded transverse fasteners preferably have a flange or cap at one end of the elongate body opposite a tapered section carrying a distal threaded section for engagement with the threaded nuts.
Preferably, the top ring member and the base member form first and second halves of a substantially cylindrical member. The base member has left and right substantially rectangular planar flange members disposed in the plane bisecting the cylinder defined by the reinforced scope ring. The left and right face flange members each include first, second and third threaded bores adapted to receive threaded fasteners for attaching the top ring member to the base member. The top ring member also includes substantially rectangular left and right flanges, each including an array of first, second and third apertures with bores sized to receive the larger head portions of the threaded fasteners used to attach the top ring member to the base member and apply substantial clamping force therebetween. The length dimension of the flange members for the top ring member and the base is disposed in parallel to the central axis of the cylinder defined by the reinforced scope ring and is preferably greater in extent than the scope ring inner diameter, thereby providing sufficient clamping force and support along the length of a scope tube to permit a single reinforced scope ring to be used for most shooting applications.
In an alternative embodiment, a lighter and more slender reinforced scope ring has a single transverse lug fastener with a substantially rectangular cross section. In the preferred embodiment, the exterior surface of the reinforced scope ring semi-cylindrical top ring member has a plurality of parallel, longitudinal grooves separated by narrow ribbed segments. The groove and rib pattern is well suited to diminish reflected glare and provides an additional gripping surface.
The above and still further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof, particularly when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals in the various figures are utilized to designate like components.